Just as a confident Shubman Gill had declared that India 'will not look back' ahead of their opening Test against England, the young captain lived up to his words with an authoritative half-century. Reaching the milestone in just 56 deliveries, Gill’s innings was not only fluent but symbolically significant.

At just 26, Gill was handed dual responsibility, leading India for the first time in the longest format and stepping into the high-pressure No. 4 position left vacant by Virat Kohli.

Gill took guard in the 26th over, moments after KL Rahul’s dismissal broke India’s solid 91-run opening partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal. With Ben Stokes still midway through his over, India were in a delicate phase. A quick collapse could have undone the good work by the openers. Much like debutant Sai Sudharsan earlier, Gill appeared slightly nervy early on. Though he got off the mark with his second delivery, his urgency to rotate the strike hinted at nerves beneath the surface.